Title
Knight Foundation Award for Five Points Plaza Programming
Action
Action:
Accept the awarded funds from the Knight Foundation in the amount of $394,200 to support the programming of the soon to be constructed, Five Points Plaza for the three years following its completion.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Taiwo Jaiyeoba, Planning, Design, and Development
Erin Chantry, Planning, Design, and Development
Explanation
§ In November 2014, voters approved $20 million for the Comprehensive Neighborhood Improvement Program (CNIP). The Five Points Realm was selected as one of the projects to move forward under the West Trade Street and Rozelle’s Ferry Road CNIP.
§ Five Points Plaza will be one of the first public spaces built by the City of Charlotte in over 25 years.
§ Knight Foundation funding will allow city staff to work closely with the community to co-create a programming and funding strategy and implement it over the next three years.
§ Funding provides for:
- Hiring and training a member of the community to work as a part-time Event Coordinator and to support a work study program for student ambassadors from Johnson C. Smith University,
- Contracting with Project for Public Spaces and The Lee Institute to design and build a resident led programming committee, strategy, and process that reflects the district’s people, history and culture, and
- Producing and marketing weekly events and programs over three years that meet the goals and objectives of the Historic West End.
§ Objectives of funding include:
- Establishing an events and programming solution that serves as a model for engaging residents and students in designing and programming public spaces in Charlotte,
- Ensuring that Five Points Plaza is an active public space reflective of the identity, culture and heritage of the Historic West End community, and
- Creating a volunteer based programming model that is financially self-sustaining.
§ Knight Foundation support ensures the city can implement programming in an equitable way for residents of the Historic West End and build capacity for neighborhood leaders to acquire future funding after the grant cycle ends.
§ Five Points Plaza, located in Council District 2, will be constructed by fourth quarter of 2021.
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Five Points Plaza Grant Proposal
Award Letter from the Knight Foundation
Grant Agreement from the Knight Foundation